Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Trade: Armenia and Azerbaijan

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what wasthe total valueof goods and services (1) exported by the UK to, (2) imported to the UKfrom, (a) Armenia, and (b) Azerbaijan in each year since 2015; and how much Official Development Assistance they provided to those countriesin each of those years.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The table below illustrates the total value of goods and services (1) exported by the UK to, (2) imported to the UK from, (a) Armenia, and (b) Azerbaijan in each year since 2015 (non-seasonally adjusted ONS data):UK Trade, goods and services, nominal basis.  £ million   20152016201720182019UK Exports to Armenia24311042728Azerbaijan1,102727543679780  UK Imports from Armenia171346Azerbaijan149207168363309Since 2015 the UK's main contribution of ODA to Armenia and Azerbaijan has been through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), delivering projects in support of stability objectives, including economic and governance reform. In Armenia this totals approximately £11.5 million and in Azerbaijan £700k. In addition, the UK has delivered a range of other projects through funds such as the FCDO's International Programme, the Magna Carta Fund and the Open Futures Fund.This table illustrates CSSF direct spend in country per year; figures are rounded and approximate due to, for example, changes in exchange rates and do not reflect regional projects which also benefit both countries. In addition, Conflict Pool programmes (CSSF's predecessor) that operated in the region prior to FY2015/16 are not reported here.Financial YearArmeniaAzerbaijan2015/16£0.05m£0.12m2016/17£0.65m£0.26m2017/18£0.61m£0.12m2018/19£2.43m£0.07m2019/20£3.71m£0.09m2020/21 (to date)£4.07m£0.03m

Africa: Human Rights

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 24 November (HL10267), what plans they have to establish an inquiryto address the legacies of African enslavement, in particular (1) Afriphobia, (2) colonisation, (3) neocolonialism, and (4) environmental and ecological destruction; and what steps they will take toensure that the victims of those legaciesand their descendants areconsulted as part of any such inquiry.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government has no plans to establish such an enquiry.

Cabinet Office

Brexit: Festivals and Special Occasions

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of securing Parliamentary approval for government expenditure on a ceremony to mark the UK’s departure from the EU.

Lord True: The Government was elected on a manifesto which made clear our plans to exit the EU, that the transition period will end on 31 December 2020, and that we will have recovered our economic and political independence.Many millions of people welcome this outcome and will mark it in their own private ways. A ceremony is not appropriate at a time of COVID restrictions.

Cabinet Office: Consultants

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plansthey have to review the value for money of theuse of management consultants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the effectiveness of their outsourcing during the COVID-19pandemic.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussionsthey have had with those private companies which provide services to Government about(1) employment practices, and (2) the safety of their staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord True: Working effectively with the private sector is a vital part of our response to tackling the covid-19 crisis, allowing us to procure quickly and innovatively and to obtain specialist solutions to the myriad challenges that are facing us. The private sector is responsible for the miracle of vaccines being available in record time.We have always made it clear that contracting authorities must use good commercial judgment and continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, and we have engaged in both internal and external audit to satisfy ourselves that that has been the case.Through “The Outsourcing Playbook” we are also improving the decision making and quality of contracts that the Government place with industry, and we are building our internal civil service capability, as we believe it is important that we invest in our in-house capacity and expertise so that we rely less on external consultants and contractorsWe recognise the important role that Government suppliers have played supporting the Government’s Covid-19 efforts in addition to delivering on their existing public sector contracts.The safety of all staff is paramount, and all suppliers must adhere to Health and Safety legislation, as well as specific departmental policy when staff are working at Government sites.

Elections: Coronavirus

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord True on 23 November (HL10099) and 9 December (HL10705) and the letter sent by the Minister for the Constitution and Devolution to Electoral Returning Officers, published on 16 September, whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what plans they have, if any, to change requirements so (1) nomination papers require only two signatures, and (2) that nominations may be accepted by email.

Lord True: The Government has considered issues around the nominations process for the May 2021 elections with the electoral sector and Public Health England and is of the view that the current process can be carried out in a covid-secure way. The Electoral Commission has published supplementary guidance to support this process and the Government is working to ensure that nominations activity is not affected by possible restrictions. There are no plans to change the number of signatures required for nomination papers at the May 2021 elections, or to allow nominations to be accepted by email. Returning Officers may allow parts of the nominations process to be carried out online, such as the arrangement of the necessary documents, but the final nomination papers must be delivered in person. The current procedures help ensure the veracity of the nominations process.

Redundancy

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have made to mitigate any job losses following the end of the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU.

Lord True: The Government believes that leaving the EU will lead to long-term benefits for the UK economy. Whilst many businesses would have been preparing for the end of the Transition Period since last year, we recognise the impact COVID-19 will have had on their ability to plan and prepare.We have a number of support schemes available including loans, grants, income support schemes and tax deferrals to support businesses through this period. Details are available on GOV.UK.

Treasury

Large Goods Vehicles: Republic of Ireland

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to curb any (1) extra pollution, and (2) extra congestion, caused as a result of the requirement for trucks from the Republic of Ireland to travel between Holyhead and registration parks in Warrington, following the end of the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: As part of the work to support the Special Development Order submissions to enable the use of Warrington inland border facility, we are carrying out traffic modelling to analyse the potential for congestion of traffic moving from Holyhead to Warrington. We are also carefully considering environmental matters including noise and air quality to minimise any potential impacts. Recent discussions with Stena Line and Port of Holyhead have also identified an option for conducting Office of Transit at the port temporarily until the enduring facility is available. This is due to the recent availability of extra space at the port and will limit the amount of traffic which is required to use Inland Border Facilities.

Overseas Aid

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of when the economic situation in the UK will allow a return to the target for official development assistance of 0.7 per cent of gross national income.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows. We cannot at this moment predict with certainty when the current fiscal circumstances will have sufficiently improved.

Private Equity: Taxation

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the taxation of carried interest.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The UK’s approach to the taxation of carried interest is in line with the approaches currently taken by other G7 countries. It is a balanced approach, which recognises that the hybrid nature of carried interest limits capital gains treatment to carried interest relating to long-term investments. The government keeps all taxes under review.